Methods and pharmaceutical preparations for elevating ketone utilization

Abstract

The invention relates generally to the field of medical treatment. More particularly, the invention relates to treating a patient in order to increase the amount of ketones metabolized by mitochondria. Exemplary patients include those with Alzheimer's disease and insulin resistance.

That which is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of improving a subject's performance on an academic task, comprising:
 administering HCA to the subject to increase the subject's metabolism of triglycerides into ketones, wherein HCA is (-)-hydroxycitric acid, a salt thereof, or a derivative thereof; and 
 performing the academic task between 10 minutes and 600 minutes after the administration, wherein the increased metabolism of triglycerides into ketones improves performance on the academic task. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein administered HCA corresponds to 500 mg to 10,000 mg of (—)-hydroxycitric acid. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising hypothesizing or determining that the subject's performance on the task would improve if mitochondria of the subject metabolized more ketones, wherein the hypothesizing or determining is performed before the administration. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the academic task is academic studying. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the academic task is completing an academic assignment. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the academic task is taking an academic test.